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Lewis Hamilton says Mercedes pair Kimi Antonelli and George Russell should be much further ahead of him in the Drivers' Championship, with Mercedes having been āthe strongest teamā so far this season. Hamilton said: "I mean, I don't really look at it much. I don't think about it. I don't think it's particularly relevant. I mean, it's great that we're all close when really Mercedes have been the strongest team and they should be a lot further ahead. So, that's exciting for the rest of the year, hopefully."
Lando Norris says his 10-place grid penalty at the Belgian Grand Prix is the result of losing multiple power unit components earlier in the season, leaving McLaren short on spare parts after fitting a new power electronics unit that takes him over his allocation. Norris said: "This weekend certainly won't be made easier by the grid penalty. That's just because I've been unlucky in the first part of the season losing a lot of different bits, whether it was the engine or the power unit or the controls ā whatever it's been. I'm on the back foot from a spare parts point of view. I've just got to take it on the chin and deal with some of the penalties that I have coming up, but this is certainly a better track to take the penalties than the next two."
Charles Leclerc says he did not fully understand why the British Grand Prix finished behind the Safety Car, even though the decision sealed his win at Silverstone after Max Verstappen spun into the gravel late on. Leclerc said: "It's true that it's always a shame to finish a race under the Safety Car. I didn't fully understand why. I think there was a rule that says that once the cars are unlapped, you need to wait one more lap. This is maybe something we can look into."
Max Verstappen says he never doubted Andrea Kimi Antonelli would take a big step forward and become more consistently competitive in his second season in Formula 1, after a rookie year in which he had a mid-season slump in form. Verstappen said: "He made quite a quick jump to Formula 1 and it's normal that in your first year there are certain mistakes that you make. I think we all make them. Of course, when you're driving for a top team, it's always highlighted a little bit more. But for me, there was never a doubt that he would make a jump the year after and already be a lot more consistently competitive."
George Russell says adapting his driving and car set-up to the demands of the 2026 Formula 1 cars has been like trying to draw the Mona Lisa. Russell said: "It is like if somebody asked you to draw the Mona Lisa, and you've got the Mona Lisa next to you. Do you think you could achieve it straight away? Maybe with practice you will, and with these new power units, these new tyres and cars, I'm having to set the car up in a way that is not suited to my driving style, I am having to drive in a way I haven't for my whole career, and having to adapt to it."
Lewis Hamilton believes the new Madrid Formula 1 circuit will be āa difficult place to overtakeā, after Ferrari became the first team to run at the Madring during a filming day ahead of the Spanish Grand Prix in September. Hamilton said: "We only had a few laps, so it was very dusty for new circuit. As you would expect, there was no grip. So, your tyres were basically just covered in dust, and that's the whole time. So, it looks like it will be a qualifying lap sort of circuit, and there's not really any straights. So, it looks like a difficult place to overtake."
Fernando Alonso admits he is not expecting much from Aston Martin at the Belgian Grand Prix and says his āmain focusā on Sunday is getting home in time to watch Spain in the World Cup final. Alonso said: "It will be different. As we don't expect much this weekend. The main focus on Sunday will be to get home and watch the match, to be honest."
Lewis Hamilton says āitās time to really crack the whipā as he heads to the Belgian Grand Prix looking to close the gap in the title fight to Mercedes driver Kimi Antonelli. Hamilton said: "It's time to really crack the whip and do better. Don't know what to expect this weekend if I'm honest with longer straights. But I love this track, the weather is great and I'm really proud of the team and incremental steps that we're taking."
Lewis Hamilton says continuing to avoid Ferrariās simulator has āmassivelyā helped his performance after he decided to stop using the teamās Maranello sim ahead of the Canadian Grand Prix because he felt the correlation was not good enough. Lewis Hamilton said: "No. Massively. I tried all last year with it, but as I said, when I was at Mercedes for the first few years I didn't use it. I've been driving simulators since 1997 and they can be really powerful and really useful tools, but they can also mislead you. Since I stopped, my performance has gone much, much better."
Oscar Piastri has played down rumours that Max Verstappen could take his McLaren seat by confirming he expects to stay at the team in 2027. Asked by media including RacingNews365 whether he will race for McLaren in 2027, Piastri replied: āYes,ā before adding: āI didnāt realise it was a point of contention.ā He said he is āvery comfortable with where I amā and that Zak Brown and Andrea Stella have been āvery reassuringā, adding: āSo I trust the team here and the things I have been told.ā
Charles Leclerc says he is not worried about Ferrari running out of budget cap spending room, after Mercedes team boss Toto Wolff suggested the Scuderia might ārun outā of development money as the season goes on. Leclerc said: "On that, I trust Fred [Vasseur] more than anything. I'm sure Fred is on top of that, so am I worried? I am not, because I fully trust Fred and I know that he knows what he's doing."
Max Verstappen refused to commit to staying at Red Bull beyond 2026 when asked about his future, telling media on Thursday: āThereās nothing to say,ā and adding: āI donāt want to go here... Say yes and no, and this and that about my future.ā ESPN reports Verstappenās deal runs to 2028 but includes performance-related exit clauses he can trigger in October, and says McLaren links are āwide of the markā despite recent speculation.
Lewis Hamilton says he would welcome the FIA race director having more freedom to red-flag races in the closing laps to avoid grands prix finishing behind the safety car, after the British Grand Prix ended that way at Silverstone following Max Verstappenās late crash. Hamilton said: "Yeah, definitely. It happened in Australia, and it was like one of the best races. Ideally, when you are in the lead, it would not be a great thing, but it would really give the fans the maximum experience. So they've done it before, and definitely finishing under the safety car is, I would be disappointed. I am disappointed being in the car, and as an athlete, so I can only imagine how the fans are feeling."
Kimi Antonelli says it is āreally hard to judgeā whether George Russellās 25-point lead over him in their Mercedes title fight is a fair reflection of their season, after both drivers have had reliability problems. Antonelli said: "It's really hard to judge because yes he's had bad luck for sure. I have to say, both of us had bad luck and one of us had it at more critical moments at times, but it's the way it is, this is how motorsport goes. We can see ourselves how this can shift very quickly."
Fernando Alonso says he is āstill having funā racing under Formula 1ās 2026 regulations because he still enjoys competing wheel-to-wheel, despite previously criticising the new cars. Alonso said: "But I do enjoy competing and I do enjoy racing against the rest of the field. So, when I close the visor, I don't really notice anything new on the rules. I'm just fighting against the car alongside. And I'm still having fun and I'm still enjoying what I do. If I was alone on track, I probably would not enjoy much driving these cars. But because I'm with another 21 cars, I do enjoy a lot."
Charles Leclerc says the main challenge of the 2026 season has been marrying his āaggressiveā driving style with this generation of Formula 1 cars, after making changes to his approach with Ferrari during the British Grand Prix weekend at Silverstone. Leclerc said: "I don't think it's with the Ferrari itself. I think it's more with this generation of cars. I've got quite an aggressive driving style in general. I think that has been a strength during my career. But then with these cars, sometimes you've got to be careful not going the other side because then the dip is quite big. You can start losing quite a lot of performance power unit-wise if you are not efficient."
Racing Bulls driver Liam Lawson says Formula 1 should consider a NASCAR-style āovertimeā restart rule to help avoid races finishing under the safety car, after the British Grand Prix ended under caution at Silverstone. Lawson said: "In NASCAR they always do one more lap, I don't know if we could do that. Obviously we have fuel levels and stuff like that to manage. It's a shame to end a race like that under safety car. If there's a way that we don't do that, I think that would be great."
Ollie Bearman says rumours linking him to a Red Bull seat are āflatteringā but insists he is focused on his current job with Haas. Bearman said: "I mean, first of all, it's quite flattering to hear things like that. You know, with a team like Red Bull who are incredibly successful. And to be connected with them in any way, even if it's just rumours, is very nice. But like I said, it's just rumours and I'm fully focused on what I'm doing here with Haas at the moment."
Charles Leclerc says a fine set-up detail he spotted in Ferrariās data on Friday night at Silverstone helped him feel āa lot betterā in the car after he had struggled earlier in the weekend. Leclerc said: "There was a moment on Friday night at Silverstone where I saw a detail, and I was like: 'Okay, this is very difficult to quantify, but if I happen to change that and make it more to my liking, then my feeling will likely be a lot better.' I did that on the Saturday afternoon, and the car was a lot better, but unfortunately, I cannot give more details."
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